1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separator and an ejector refrigerant cycle using the gas-liquid separator. The gas-liquid separator can be suitably used for a vapor-compression refrigerant cycle system.
2. Description of Related Art
In a vapor-compression refrigerant cycle system, a gas-liquid separator for storing excess refrigerant is provided at a high pressure side or a low pressure side so as to compensate thermal-load variation. The gas-liquid separator separates refrigerant into gas refrigerant and liquid refrigerant. Specifically, when the gas-liquid separator is provided at the low pressure side, the gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator is supplied to a suction side of a compressor while the liquid refrigerant is stored in the gas-liquid separator. At this time, the super-heated gas refrigerant from an evaporator flows into the gas-liquid separator, and is heat-exchanged with the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator. Therefore, the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator is evaporated, so that saturated gas refrigerant without super-heating is supplied to the compressor. Further, because the liquid refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator is evaporated to cause violent bubbles on its liquid surface, the liquid refrigerant may be supplied to the suction side of the compressor. This trouble is generally prevented by increasing a liquid surface area, that is, a cross-section area of a tank body of the gas-liquid separator.
However, as the cross-section area of the tank body, that is, an inner radial dimension of the tank body increases, stress applied to the tank body is increased, and pressure resistance of the tank body is reduced. Therefore, the pressure resistance of the tank body is required to be sufficiently ensured by increasing of its wall thickness or the like. Accordingly, the weight and the size of the gas-liquid separator increase, and its production cost also increases.